1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to medical devices, and more particularly to an endotracheal tube having at least one light strip extending along the endotracheal tube adapted to illuminate a pathway through a patient's mouth or nose into the patient's trachea, an inflatable balloon adapted to occlude the patient's airway, and a connector having an alarm mechanism including a speaker and/or a light to alert a medical professional if the connector becomes disconnected.
2. Description of the Related Art
Intubation is an invasive procedure in which a medical practitioner uses an endotracheal tube to maintain an open airway for a patient. It can also be a method through which to administer certain medication, such as anesthesia. The procedure is typically done by having a medical practitioner insert an endotracheal tube into a patient's mouth (also known as a tracheal intubation) or nose (also known as a nasal intubation) and feeds the distal end of the endotracheal tube into the trachea of the patient to provide a fluid medium, such as air, oxygen, an air or a gas mixture or certain medications, into the lungs of the patient. This is typically done when a person cannot manage their own airway, either because of injury and/or trauma suffered by a person or because of general anesthesia received in preparation for a medical procedure. The goal of an intubation is to insert the endotracheal tube into the trachea of the patient and then maintain it within the trachea without causing damage to the patient's trachea until the procedure is complete and the endotracheal tube is removed.
Whether such goal of intubation is achieved can depend on a variety of factors, such as the skill of the medical practitioner and the instruments being used to see the opening of the trachea, for example. Despite the relatively high number of intubations that are performed on a daily basis, complications can arise as a result of improper or difficult intubations. Factors that can lead to complications include, for example, vocal cords not being visible despite the patient's mouth being opened, variations in normal anatomy, pathologic conditions which do not allow the medical practitioner to see the tracheal opening, and instrument malfunctioning.
Also, for example, should the light on a laryngoscope fail during an intubation the medical practitioner could thread the endoscope into the patient's esophagus instead of the trachea. Such a mistake could result in serious injuries and even death of the patient. Moreover, if a connector of the endotracheal tube were to become disconnected from a ventilator or the shaft inside the patient's body without anyone noticing, the patient could die as a result of lack of oxygen, a condition known as hypoxia.
Thus, an endotracheal tube addressing the aforementioned problems is desired.